Juvenile beacon hat



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Nrares earner orties,

JUVENILE BEACQN` HAT Mathias P. Gaab, Mandan, N. Dak.

Frpplication December 17, 19148, Serial No'.165,847'

(Cl. 24U-60) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to hats and` caps of the childrens play type, and. particularly tofan illuminated headgear preferably termed a juvenile beacon hat.

The main object of. my invention is to provide a hat for children with means for illuminating the. scene before the childV Wearing the hat, or for signalling by the 4child at will.

Another object is to mount upon the top oi a childs hat a special casingadapted to receive a.

Other objects-and advantages of the inven-V tion will appear in further detail as the specification proceeds.

In order to facilitate ready comprehension of this invention for a proper appreciation of the salient features thereof, the invention is illustratedon theuaccompanying drawing forming part hereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a juvenile be-acon hat made according to the invention and embodying the same in a practical form;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same juvenile beacon hat as seen from the right in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially vertically and centrally in Figure 1 to disclose structural details;

Figure 4 is another fragmentary enlarged sectionftaken substantially vertically and centrally in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail.

In the views the same reference numerals indicate the same or like parts.

For games and play, children frequently require cert/ain equipment which is often meager' enough, and when playing various games outdoors, particularly in the twilight and in the dark of early evening, illuminated signals and lights serve various purposes. Flashlights are 2 often bulky and all too easily mislaid, not to mention that they are too expensive to be used by children generallyjwhen` at play,v and even then are not fully satisfactormbut form a limitation on the play.

Upon considering this' problem, it has occurred` to me that a childs play hat should be available with a small battery and a lamp mounted thereon with means for illuminating `the lamp at will. As.

a result, I have succeeded, in producing a juvenile beacon hat, as `already outlined, which will now bemore fully described.

Hence, in the practice of my inventionand.

referring again to the' drawing, a childshatI4 generally indicated at 6, primarily includes a., typical domed portion l of felt, cellulosic material, or any material suitable for-the purpose having preferably a rim 8Which may be provided with a series of upwardly-extendingl similar teeth;

e, 9, or be `formed into a brim of any shape desired. As shownpthe hat is of assimple a form as is practicable.

Mounted upon the uppercentral .portion ofthe dome l which serves as the top ofy the hat is a;

plate Ill secured by rivets I I to the crown of the hat andhavinga pair o'frside flanges IEand I3 andi front and rear fiangesliV and I5, the platej I flrbeingi substantially rectangular in form and the various flanges l2 to I5 virtually forming a single bounding wall or flange about the four edges thereof.

However, each of the flanges upon-plate Ill is provided with outwardly-pressed projections IG, asbest seen in enlarged form in Figure 5,

L adapted to engage in recesses i1 inthe interior Walls of a casing I 8; which is generally ofrounded form upon the upper half thereof and" substantially rectangular,` upon the lower portion with one end enlarged at I9, the other end 2U being closed while the enlarged end I9 is provided with a concave reflecting portion 2I and a .metal4 socket 22 for receiving the lamp 23 with its inner central contact 2li directed inwardly of the casing I8. The latter is adapted tohold an electric cell 25A in such position that its center contact or pole 26 is directed forwardly, against the center,

contact 24 of lamp 23, while within the rear end 2i] of casing I8 is an upwardly-extending metal lug 21 extending upwardly from the under side 28 of crown 'l of the hat. Upon the mentioned under side 28, the contact lug 21 is continued in the form of a flat metal conductor or ribbon 29 which is directed downwardly along one side at 30 toward the lower edge 3I of the hat, at which.

3 point the band 3d terminates in a switch contact 32.

In the enlarged forward end I 9 of casing I8, a conductor 33, preferably in the form of a strip of metal, extends from socket 22 downwardly and makes contact with an exposed end 34 of a second ribbon conductor 35 upon the under side 28 of the hat, the end 36 being extended through the hat to the top thereof into a position exposing it to direct contact with the strip or conductor 33 when the housing i8 is placed in position over plate I9. The conduct-o1' 35 is directed downwardly at S in general parallelism with the formerly-described conductor St and terminates in a second switch contact 3l within a switch casing 3S extending through the upwardly-projecting brim B of the hat and through to the interior 28 thereof. In the switch casing 38 is mounted a push button or manually-operable switch member 39 engaging against contact 31 and adapted to bring the same inwardly into contact with the previously-mentioned contact 32 when the circuit of lamp 23 and cell 25 will be closed and the lamp will be illuminated.

When the cell 25 is exhausted, it is a simple matter to lift casing i8 oil plate I9 which operation disengages the protuberances I9 on the flanges I3, Ill, etc., from the recesses Il in the walls of casing i8, and the cell 25 may then be removed and replaced by a new cell, merely observing the precautions that the center pole 26 of the new cell engages against the rear center contact 24 of lamp 23 and the rear end of the cell is disposed in position to be engaged with the Contact or lug 2? when the casing I8 is replaced in position upon plate IQ. It is self-evident that whenever the button 39 is pressed by the child wearing the hat, the lamp 25 will be illuminated for as long or short period as the button remains pressed and intermittent signals may thus be made by lighting and extinguishing the lamp frequently or according to any predetermined code when the children are playing in the twilight or in the dark.

While plate i9 is preferably of metal, the casing I8 and its parts may readily be made of plastic or any other suitable material, and the ribbon conductors 35 and 36, etc., may be made of strip metal, whether or not the same be covered with insulation, as by enanieling or covering with paper or fabric, inasmuch as the current is so low that insulation is of secondary importance. On the other hand, some or all of conductors 29, t, 33, til and 36 may well consist of flexible wires enclosed within fabric tape similar to bias tape, which are readily sewed or cemented in place within the hat.

The electric cell 25 forming the source of cur- Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used without others within the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims,

Having now fully described my invention, I claim:

1. In a juvenile beacon hat, comprising a hat proper having a crown portion, a plate secured upon the crown portion, ange means on the plate, a downwardly-open and hollow battery casing tting detachably upon the flange means over said plate, said battery casing having a flaring opening in one end with an electric lamp located in said opening and the casing serving to retain an electric cell in effective position to make electrical contact by one pole thereof with a contact on the lamp, a connection to the other contact on said lamp and a further contact to said cell, a pair of conductors leading from the two last-mentioned contacts past the plate down within said hat to one side thereof, and a switch upon said one side of said hat having a manually-operated switch member accessible upon said side of said hat for closing and opening the circuit oi said lamp by bringing said conductors together at will.

2. In a juvenile beacon hat, comprising a hat proper having a crown portion, a substantially rectangular plate secured upon the crown portion of the hat, side and end lianges on the plate, locking projections on the flanges, a hollow battery casing having an open bottom adapted to fit exteriorly7 upon said flanges and having recesses within the open bottom for receiving said locking projections, and a flaring opening in one end of the battery casing for receiving an electric lamp therein, the casing serving to retain an electric cell in effective position to make electrical Contact by one pole thereof with a contact on the lamp, a connection in said casing to the other contact on said lamp and a further contact therein to said cell, a pair of flat ribbon conductors leading within said hat from said last-mentioned two connections past the plate a down to the side of said hat, and a manuallyoperated switch connected to said two at ribbon conductors and having a manually-operable switch member accessible upon said side of said hat for closing and opening the circuit of said r lamp by bringing said conductors into and out The following references are of record in the file of this patent: Y

UNITED STATES PATENT Number Name Date 897,588 Cogswell et al Sept. 1, 1998 1,517,180 Timlin Nov. 25, 1924 1,749,998 Collins Mar. 11, 1930 1,914,429 Houlihan et al. June 20, 1933 2,131,617 Cowden Sept. 27, 1938 

